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Armenian Thanksgiving Pumpkin

What should you prepare with all those apples and pumpkins? Many people confront this question after the celebratory hayride and apple and pumpkin-picking excursion. I love to try exotic recipes with my pumpkins. This year I am making a fall dish from Armenia called Ghapama. This vegan dish, dramatically presented inside a whole roasted pumpkin, can be the star of your Thanksgiving table.

Ghapama is a harvest dish with its own special rituals. First, a fresh pumpkin is picked. Then the whole family helps to clean the pumpkin, stuff it with rice, fresh apples, dry fruits, and nuts. Then they enjoy each other’s company while the pumpkin bakes. When it is ready, everyone eats it straight out of the oven while it is piping hot.

Ghapama
Adapted from Arusyak Mirzakhanyan

1 7 Lb. pumpkin

1 cup rice

3 cups water

4 cups diced apples

1/4 cup minced dry apricots

1/4 cup minced dry plums

1/4 cup minced dry peaches

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup chopped dates

1/4 cup dry cranberries

1 cup chopped almonds

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup coconut oil

Pinch of salt

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

3/4 cup agave nectar

Photo: Raffi

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place the rice in a pot.

Add 3 cups of cold water and salt.

Cook the rice on high heat for 15 minutes, then strain. It should not be fully cooked.

Place the rice back in the pot, and add the coconut oil.

Add the nuts and dried fruits.

Mix in 6 tbsp. of agave nectar and 2 tsp. of cinnamon.

Set the rice mixture aside.

Wash the pumpkin.

Open the pumpkin by cutting off the top.

Reserve the top of the pumpkin to make a lid.

Scoop out the seeds and pulp.

Spread the rest of the agave nectar on the interior walls and floor of the pumpkin.

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About Ronit Treatman

Ronit Treatman, joined the Philadelphia Jewish Voice in April 2009 as a food writer. In 2010, she became its food editor. In 2013, she was elected president of the Philadelphia Jewish Voice. She was born in Israel, and grew up in Ethiopia and Venezuela. Ronit graduated from the International School of Caracas and is fluent in five languages. She served as a volunteer with the Liaison to Foreign Forces Unit of the Israel Defense Forces. She has a B.S. in international business from Temple University. Ronit is the creator of Hands-On Jewish Holidays.